It is known to mount an inflatable restraint on the hub of the steering wheel or on the instrument panel in the passenger compartment to supplement the seat belts in the event of a frontal crash. The inflatable restraint is inflated by a hot nitrogen gas generated by the ignition of a pyrotechnic device. The inflatable restraint is designed for a specific car by varying the size of the inflatable restraint, the rate and pressure of inflation, and the size of the vents in the bag which control deflation of the inflatable restraint.
Because of the large number of variables involved in the design and engineering of an effective inflatable restraints system, it would be desirable to provide an inflation apparatus and method which could be re-used repeatedly and also be readily adjusted to vary the rate and pressure of inflation of the inflatable restraints. It has been found that the use of pyrotechnic devices may not be desirable during this development and engineering effort because such devices are not reusable and considerable time and expense is required to manufacture the pyrotechnic devices which must be employed to provide inflation gases at varying rates and pressures.
Therefore it would be desirable to provide an apparatus and method by which readily available compressed gases could be employed to simulate the inflation rates and pressures ordinarily obtained from the hot gas generated by the pyrotechnic devices.